Rule of thumb for this and any other chapter to follow. [] is background Susie, () is background Noelle, / \ is background Kris, ** is background Ralsei. If I decide I need him in this context, then == is Berdly.

I have zero intention to make this an every chapter deal. In fact, who knows if much more of this or any of this will happen in the future if I decide it's too much. I just thought you should know about what these all mean ahead of time.

On with the story.


Hm... Listening back on all of the recordings so far... It's kind of ... disheartening that everyone aside from... Kris... never knows what to say at the start.

N-not... that I am any different.

... Was Susie really so bad? I thought she did well for her first time...

[Hey! I did good in general! Not my fault I'm not as wordy as you nerds!]

(Oh, Susie~...)

Eheh~... Well, anyway. We're at the part where Susie had just fallen into the Dark World a second time, right?

(Yes.)

Okay then. I'm going to start a little bit before I found her so that I'm not leaving how I got there out.

[Pfft. Why's that matter? Point is you were there.]

Yes, but it wouldn't be right to leave them wondering about that.

[Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Just get on with it already. Else we'll be here all day.]

... You have pizza. Don't you?

[-Sounds of chewing vaguely audible- ... -gulp- Ahh, yyyep~.]

... So... could you maybe... try to have some patience...?

[Ugh. Just start wherever you want! It'll take longer arguing with you than it will to get to the important part.]

... Anyway...

The trip I took should have been shorter than it was. I started off traveling to Autumn Vale from the Kingdom of Aces in a Mule drawn carriage. And by mule, I don't mean like a donkey. Mule are Twin beasts that look like dogs mixed with wingless dragons with scales. About the size of a horse, I suppose. They are always a pair of siblings colored Black and White.

It was being driven by a Rudinn garbed in an admittedly suspicious looking black cloak, so I never really knew what she looked like.

I sat in the back on one of two benches built into the wall, looking as I usually do... ... ... Ah. Wait, no I guess not. After all, with my Shade's clothes on, I look black furred instead of white...

... Wait. Do they even know what I look like?

[Pretty sure Kris told them the simple version.]

Ah... Well, I could always elaborate for clarification~.

[Oh my god, they probably know what you look like. Why else would they be here?]

But Susie, we shouldn't make assumption. What if-

[OH MY GOD, just describe yourself. This is cringe!] (Susie, don't be so hasty.)

Uh... O-okay then!

Well, as I am in my Shade's Cloth and Hat- at least in the Dark World- I look like a thick-furred, black goat monster. I appear to have black schlera'd white eyes and do have a short muzzle with a slit nose. I have a small tail, but you'll never see that. I wasn't and still am not exactly tall. And I'm... not exactly big either. I'm pretty thin.

Of course, I'm not like a real goat in every way, much like with Ms. Toriel, actually. I have fangs that blend in with my fur in any form sticking out of my mouth and pawed feet instead of hooves.

(Yeah... About that. Are you related to the Dreemurrs at all?)

I don't think it's impossible, but it would be a first time being told as much~. I didn't really have anyone around to tell me-... Uhm, maybe I should just continue.

(Sorry~.)

A-anyways, my attire is pretty simple. A pointy, green magician's hat with slips for my horns to hide in- my Shade's Hat. On my face and over my muzzle, I wear simple green framed glasses. And over my body, I wear a green, baggily fitting robe with a black heart or SOUL symbol on the front. I also wear short green pants, but you'll never see them unless there is a terrible draft.

Around my neck is a big, red scarf long enough top drape down my back for a ways. I actually use it for all sorts of things! It's great for grabbing and swatting since it's pretty heavy-

[Dude, that's overboard.]

Ah. Sorry~.

... So yes. I was on my way to Autumn vale by carriage. But I had been on my way for hours and hours. I was starting to get more than a little restless, knowing the task ahead would be difficult.

Much of my time, in truth, was spent in a silent, eyes closed vigil to prepare myself for the task ahead. I had read in books that the people of the Vale were many things. Isolationists. Naturalists. They avoided contact with those not native to the area, if it could be helped. Outsiders were not hated, but they were not welcome to stay unless they gave themselves entirely to the rules of nature. And there were rules.

1. Thine dark need not the tainted touch of stone, metal, nor spark.

In essence, this means that technology is forbidden, along with metal craft and stone masonry. You need to live by the land, of the land and with the land.

2. Partake only of that which Vale birth.

You can't eat food nor drink liquids that aren't directly from The Vale. It's seen as faithless.

3. War not within clans nor without. Yet leave each other hale and whole.

Conflict is strictly prohibited between the races and clans. It is as plain as it sounds. And yet it is one of two rules even the clans struggle with.

4. Kill only that which is strictly necessity.

You can't deal death to an animal which you had no reason to kill. Even should the animal threaten you, you cannot take it's life. The second rule the dwellers of the forest struggle to follow.

5. Want naught of the Outside. Bestow thou faith upon The Vale.

It's debated how much of the Outside World they are meant to shun, but shun it they do. Even the people.

6. Fear not of the Bright Ones. Chosen are they and saviors be their mantle. Bestowed upon them be every blessing, including mine own.

Lightners are blessed by The Vale, never to come to harm. Instead, forest dwellers are to help any and all who find their way to Autumn. At all costs, if necessary... But I didn't know what blessing the forest itself could bestow upon a Lightner. I assumed it meant that Lightners could do anything they wanted and not come to bare the consequences. I may have been preeetty far off~. But it was just a simple guess, anyway.

7. Scorn and punishment upon thou who violate my decree. Thy punishment be mine to decide.

Those who break the rules are to be both banished and receive a just punishment from The Vale itself. Whether that means they are to be shunned and left for dead or if the forest itself actually does something to punish rule breakers was beyond me.

And finally, 8. The wind guide mine voice to thee, dear child. Heed it's words with ear and mind open, bar none.

Once again, a rule up for interpretation, since I didn't live there. But it obviously sounded like the Vale was meant to have ultimate say in matters as well as a voice that "came upon the wind."

... Obviously, what I read didn't tell me everything, but it had me wondering about many things...

"Hey, kid." I twitched in my seat on and turned my head to look at the driver, who still had her back to me.

I smiled with a furrow in my brow and ask, "Yes, miss? What is it? If you are tired, we may rest for a time..."

"Pfft. Naw. I don't need a break. But you're sweet for asking." She turned her head to me, but I couldn't actually see her face through the darkness of her hood. "I have a question for you. It's about this whole Hero of Light, DELTA RUNE hosh bosh."

I blinked, my expression nonplussed. "Err... Okay..." Smiling as best I could, my instinct was to not be nervous. Merely polite. "What would you like to know, miss?"

She tilted her head. "Well, for one, what makes you think that you and those Lightners are The Three? I can tell ya. I've seen more interesting and more fit faces than yours. And the Lightners. One of them smacked around a good number of us before you put ér on a leash. That ain't very heroic."

... In my honesty, I wasn't really that caught off guard. I know that I called us Heroes, but Susie... She really made me question it. And I'm not really that good at the FIGHTing. I mean, obviously... I healed the King of Spades, even though I knew it was a bad idea...

And so, I just kept smiling as my head tilted, though I was smiling less. "An excellent point. Truth be told, I could be completely mistaken. My friends might not be the two, even though one was definitely a human. But I still think that they are two of the heroes. After all, Kris was able to seal a Fountain as was described in the legend."

She turned back forward as her white and red-diamond ringed tail wriggled. "... And you? Ya haven't defended yourself."

I closed my eyes and laid myself back, huffing through my nose, my smile even smaller. "Well... As for me, I have been doubting myself. You see, I AM a Prince From The Dark, but I am not the only one. And I have no subjects, at that. Lancer, on the other hand, just became a King after being a Prince himself. It could well be that HE is the one the Legend tells of... Or, we may have yet to meet the Prince... There are more kingdoms than our own, after all. So, wouldn't that make sense...?"

... She raised her head a bit. "You know... You might just be on to something, there."

I couldn't help a giggle, my smile widening again as I opened my eyes to look at the driver. "You think so, huh? Personally, I don't mind it. I am just happy to be helping in some way. Even if I am not THE Prince."

"Yeah... Personally, though, I don't really care who the Prince is..."

I blinked in alert. "H-huh...?"

Suddenly, she whipped her reins on the Mule and they roared in alert, before they suddenly began to sprint, their claws scraping and thumping against the dirt! I cocked a brow at all of this as she took a leap onto one of the nearby Mule and pulled out a long, double-edged sword! It was much to my shock as I stood up from my seat and rushed to the front of the cabin! "H-hey, what are you-"

But unfortunately, it was far too late.

Down on the carriage ropes the blade came and through them like butter it slashed!

-SNAP!-

Suddenly the carriage took a heavy shudder, throwing me back and over onto the wooden floor as the Carriage careened onto it's side! This made me fall from the floor and slip down abruptly into the bench, thunking my whole body down against it before I rolled down and onto the white tarp. It was a... less soft landing than I expected...

... The growing pains all over me made my aching form move, tossing onto a side while I ground. I could hear the Scraping and thumping of the Mule's claws were gone, a second roar now very distant under echo.

I finally worked up enough strength to rise up into a sit, rubbing at my side. "O-ow... Well, that- uhn- wasn't very nice..."

[Of course it wasn't nice. She flippin' wrecked your ass.]

H-hey! You know I like to expect the best of people. Please, don't give me a hard time...

[Ugh... You're lucky you're cute.]

(... H-he is kind of cute isn't he?)

[What, you never noticed?]

(W-well, I never-)

Uhm... Can I please continue?

[What, you were waiting? Go ahead. I ain't gagging you.]

-Sigh-... Anyhow, I made myself climb out of the back of the now sufficiently ruined canopy. It wasn't tricky, but I definitely didn't like added pain of bruises to my arm and side. Free of the canopy, I walked from the red grass back onto the grey path, looking around at where I was.

It seemed like, despite the fact that she had obviously betrayed me, the Rudinn still drove me close to where I needed to go. I could see a massive, orange line of trees stretched across the dark horizon. The Autumn Vale. Rising from in the middle of it was a large beam of Darkness. Larger than the one that had been beside Aces Castle.

Yet, it was still a ways away...

I turned around and found myself unable to see even the Castle of the Kingdom of Aces. All I could see was the thin beam shooting up from my own castle, courtesy of the original Fountain of Darkness. I was further away from home than I had ever been, but it wasn't the time to just retreat.

Turning back to the forest, I sighed. "At the very least, my destination doesn't seem more than a few hours away..." What else could I have done? I started to walk the path to the forest at a brisk pace. Were I more confident that I could run all the way there, I would have, but my legs would have been uhm... Well, they would be gelatinous.

Still, It was a longer walk than I had bargained for... The trees looked much closer than they actually were. Their huge size had lied to me on just how close I was.

I can't say how long I had been walking for before I started to feel the blisters forming on my paw pads. Still, I felt it. And I could feel a nagging, tugging want to stop on the count of being sweaty and bruised on one side... And then, I smiled as it finally dawned on me. "Oh! I have Healing Prayer!"

Lifting my arm to the air, I focused my energy into a palm and chant a small prayer. in mere seconds, I whistling sound accompanied by green sparks of light filled the air around me. My bruises instantly felt like a distant memory, their burden no more...

... But I should have been thinking. That spell usually took Technical Points or a certain amount of my energy to cast... And since I wasn't in a fight, that ended up being my energy, which made my relief turn into a significant exhaustion.

I took a heavy huff and frowned, squinting. "Ouf... That was not well thought through. Now, I feel terrible in a different way..." It made me feel tired... Yet, obviously I had no time to stop and take a small nap. I had to reach the forest. And so, I continued on...

It would have been welcome for something- anything to happen at that point. If I had gotten into an encounter situation, it might have risen my energy back up. If I had found a berry bush, that would have been an excellent boost of energy after eating.

But no. It was merely a shear and miserable trek. Aches and pain were starting to come back before long. Their distraction and my own settling-in exhaustion came together to create the ultimate dreg upon my journey.

You don't need a sun in your world for a walk to feel grueling. All you need a lack of provisions, activity and enough time...

... ... ...

Head hung and eyes on the ground, I hadn't even realized the moment when I first got into the Autumn Vale. My legs were hurting, I felt weak in my core and I wanted to lay down. I was tired. "Guh... Well, this is not how I mh... figured this would go... Perhaps I should have chosen to bring along a snack or drink for the adventure... This is... quite miserable..."

-Thump!- "Agh!"

"Whoa!" I went falling over and face-planting into the ground as I tripped over something quite large and bulky.

[Hey!]

A-am I meant to lie?

[Ugh. Whatever... Sometimes, you're too honest.]

I-I'm sorry... But anyways, I groaned into the dirt, lazy and bumbling through my exhaustion. I didn't want to get back up and I could have fallen asleep right there, even though I was slumped across that thing I tripped over...

"Hey, asshole! Ya mind getting the hell off?!" At off, I was tossed off of the something with a shriek as it rose! Tumbling over myself, I came to rest on my back, aching and dizzy added to my list of complaints.

I struggled onto a side and directed my eyes down to see what I had tripped on... and my eyes immediately bugged. A gasp forced itself into me as my agape mouth curled into a smile. "S-Susie!"

Still rubbing at her kidney and sitting up, she looked down at me and said, "Who wants to-" And then, her eyes grew wide behind her hair, glowing passed the follicles. She jerked forward and took hold of my forearms, much to my alarm. "Ralsei?! Holy ****, RALSEI?!"

As with anyone who fell from Light to Dark, she had gained a few physical changes to her appearance. Her scales had turned pink and her hair had turned plum purple

She was wearing different attire from the one she entered with, as before. She now wore a long, black vest with purple trimming over a purple, thick-necked shirt. On her arms, she wore golden spiked, black arm bands around her forearms and her wrists. Her bottom half was adorned by purple pants with a golden buckled black belt. Their legs were tucked into Knee-high, black boots with gold soles. And before any of you wonder, yes. Susie's tail turned back into the Jevil's Tail, which was merely pinned to the back of her-[Does it really matter? You're holding up the story.] ... Point taken.

Through a nervous smile, I giggled and nodded. "U-uhm... Yes. Who else would I have been looking like this?"

As she rose onto her feet, she pulled me up and slightly off of the ground as she helped me myself right. Then, I stood across from her and smiled. "Thank you, Susie."

I think she realized what she did at the time, because her expression turned nervous, before she took her hands off of me and smiled more relaxed... even though she was sweating. "Tch! Whatever. Next time you nail me in the kidney, I'm giving you a toss into a tree. Got that?"

"Noted," I returned, a bit too cheerfully in my opinion. Honestly, I wasn't worried about the threat.

Though, judging by the way Susie's smile faded, she seemed to pick up on my exhaustion. Gesturing to my person, she told me, "Uh, dude. You look like ass."

I frowned and sighed, passing a hand over my face. "My dear lord, is my exhaustion really so obvious? I'm wearing my Shade's clothes..."

She just stared at me for a moment, before she said, "Well, that whatever you call it robe is ripped, you have dust all over you, you look like you're ready to fall over... again..."

My legs were feeling unsteady... I simply rolled my eyes as she threw everything I didn't want to acknowledge into plain thought. I hadn't slept on the carriage ride, got tossed around by the end of it, used up valuable energy I didn't realize I was so low on and walked for... perhaps ten hours. That's probably more what it felt like than it actually was, but with how slow walking is compared to a Mule ride, it's not utterly impossible.

... I'm sorry, I started rambling. Let me continue. In response to Susie's facts, I groaned and shook my head, before smiling up at her through furrows. "I'm fine. We should worry less about me and more about closing up the Fountain."

She folded her arms, not entirely convinced, then said, "Yeah, that plan needs to take a back burner. We got a couple other problems." She first looked around at the entrance of the forest... Then, she stared at me with concern. "Uh... Where the hell are we?"

I answered, saying, "We're at the entrance of the Autumn Vale. A forest kingdom ruled by no one but the forest itself."

She looked at me and tilted her head. "Uh... A forest is a THING, genius. It can't rule crap."

"Don't tell that to the inhabitants." I raised a hand and began to explain. "The forest, known as the Vale, is the peoples of this forest's deity. It's decrees are law and-"

"A forest doesn't make decrees," she cut in, much to my disarmed surprise.

I frowned and sighed. "Whether or not you wish to believe in such things, much less myself, this is the reality to the inhabitants of the Autumn Vale. You MUST respect that. This forest and it's inhabitants are said to be zealots of the Vale's Rules. We are already Outsiders and that alo-

"Yawn," she cut in, hanging her head to the side. It irritated me, but she put a finger to my mouth and told me, "Look, I don't care what the rules here are. I'm only here for Kris and Noelle."

As soon as she removed her finger from my lips, I blinked and thought for a moment... I looked around and furrowed my brows. "Hey... That's right. Where is Kris?" Then, I looked at her and asked, "And who is this Noelle person?"

She groaned and leaned to a side while she rubbed at her neck... "Uh... Don't know where Kris is. They went in before I even knew what was going on. And Noelle's a friend of ours from our world. I think she fell down here by accident."

"Oh..." I sweat and bit my scarf, looking at the ground with a frown. "Uh... I don't know if that's bad or not... I-I mean it's bad, but uh..."

She suddenly stiffened up and stepped closer. "What do you mean? It was already bad. What could be worse about it?"

"Like I said." I shrugged up at her and said, "I don't know." Then, I went on with a stern expression. "What if Noelle came into the Dark World defenseless? You are the only Lightners I have to go on, but I have a good hunch that you are both Heroes! You both having weapons could be because of what you both are to the world, whereas this Noelle is just a normal Lightner."

That made Susie hiss through her teeth, pacing around. "Crap...!" She turned to me and said, "Well, what are we waiting for?! We have to fi-"

-Shink!-

We both gasped jumped back from an Arrowhead shaped magic dagger that split the ground between us! Looking around we searched the trees around us to find the one who threw it as it faded away.

Susie, growling out her irritation, reached in behind her as her Axe faded into view- a two-handed pole-arm with a large, razor sharp edge colored blue- then swung it forward, embedding it into the ground, much to my jumping surprise. "Susie, you can't-"

She shouted and cut me off. "Show your face, coward! You scared of getting whooped by a girl?!"

Her blatant disregard for the rules of the forest made me break out in sweat... But at the same time, this was a weird move. Why were we attacked? It made sense if it was because of me, but the attacker risked hitting Susie as well. A Lightner...

The more I though about it... the more I grew confused... Maybe they didn't know... I turned my attention back up into the trees and shouted, "Please, wait! We are not enemies! My friend is a Lightner! A "Bright One"!"

... Silence...

... Then, the leaves of the tree limbs high above began to shiver. Out from the thick of their brush, several shadowy figures quickly descend all around us, much to our alarm! We quickly got back to back as Susie readied her axe over her shoulder, glaring all around.

They all looked like foxy satyrs of varying shapes and sizes and wore differing masks. Some male, some female... In essence, they were the same as the person Noelle first met...

... One such person walked forward, baring a large rod with an odd head. It swirled in a gnarly way, the very center bejeweled with a black gem. He held it not like an old man with a back problem... but a strong character who commanded authority.

He stood straight with a strong, well-built figure with head over the rest. His arms and legs were stronger than average. His horns were curved in swirls beside his masked face that suddenly jut sharply outward. The Mask itself was shaped like the wooden skull of a six eyed antelope. It was the only one that let a mouth show, his muzzle long and thin with a black nose. The man only had one and a half fox ears. His main tail was smaller than the other fox satyr folk's tails, but the tendril tails were perhaps longer and seemed to move hypnotically.

He wore a sort of stitched-up, black vest with spiked patterns along the bottom, decorated up the middle and around the neck by feathers. A long, black warrior's skirt adorned his bottom half, it's waist and bottom lined by thick, white fur. Arm and shin Shin guards of leather were strapped to both. Over one broad, muscular forearm, he wore a red band of golden trim marked by Ancient letters. They looked like glyphs.

Around his neck hung a symbol of authority- a necklace baring the actual DELTA RUNE on it hanging over his chest. White feathers were shaped into the wings, and white gems studded into leather made up the circle and triangles.

... Now that I actually looked around, It seemed that the others were all adorned in leather armor and cloth stitching alike, however they were very clearly underlings. Their dressings were far simpler.

I turned back to him and frowned. "Please. We mean you no harm. We only want to help..."

Susie looked at me with a groan, but shook her head and looked back to the man.

He looked all around to his confused brethren, before bowing his head for a moment... Then, raising it again to look at us with unseen eyes, he spoke. "By your meaning, you seem to think we are in need. Yet, of what? And why?" His voice was husky, but clear.

I instantly felt an uncomfortable vibe in the air. I couldn't help a shiver running up my back... I swallowed my nerves and tried to smile. I was certain if I was simply kind and sincere, everything would turn out for the best.

I walked a step closer and started to explain. "You may not be aware of it, but there is a Fountain of Darkness spewing out from the center of your forest."

He shook his head and folded his arms around his staff. "I am aware of it. The Black Geyser which strikes the sky."

I nodded, smiling more. "Yes. Well. I should explain. That "Black Geyser" is a part of a prophecy. Or it will be. And if my friends and I don't close the fountain-"

"Indeed. I am aware of The Legend..." I stopped, staring confused at the unphased man. He turned his back to us and stamped the butt of his staff to the ground. Then, he said, "The sky will run darker than darkness. The earth shall cave under her own weight. Thusly shall this world end... only to transform into a new one once the dust settles."

My blood ran cold and my face tensed. Susie, too, took a step forward and bared axe to the man's back. I gasped and quickly lowered her weapon, much to her annoyance. Still, it was too late. Every one of the strange people had taken to summoning weapons into their hands or floating at their sides. I saw the arrowhead from before multiplied by many, swords, lances and even bar glaives. All were made of a magic colored white. They almost looked like ivory, but there was an unnatural black outline around them. A sign of black magic.

Jerking her weapon from me and readying it to fight every man and woman there, she told me, "Forget it, Ralsei. These guys didn't come here to listen. They came here to wreck us."

I wanted to reason with her, but that face she was making, that serious glint in her eyes, told me it was impossible. So, frowning and turning back to their supposed leader, I pleaded. "P-please, sir! You don't understand! The Prophecy isn't telling you a new world will be born. It's foretelling the end! Total destruction is all that shall come of the world- or at the very least, the destruction of your forest! Wha-"

"And yet, the prophecy foretells of "world's edge" after the final death cry of the world has been given."

I felt my heart skip... That was true, but it still didn't mean there would be many people left in whatever world he was hoping for. I shook my head with a frown and stepped closer. "You don't understand! Eve-"

-Whish!-

Suddenly, I had a spear's tip at my neck as I withdrew with eyes wide. My body shuddered as I looked to one of his unreadable masked followers, who then said, "Take another step toward our Shepard and let your head roll, traitor."

-SNAP!-

Suddenly, Susie's axe came down and sliced the spear in two, much to the follower reflexively stumbled back, seeming to be surprised. The monster girl glared with this ghastly look in her glowing eyes, baring her teeth. "That was a mistake, asshole! My friend was TALKING!"

I frowned deeply, honestly frightened by how close Susie seemed to doing some real harm to these people. And they seemed to get that idea, all except for the leader taking steps inward and pointing their weapons at us. I put my hands up and briskly walked over to my friend. "S-Susie, please- c-calm down! We don't need to fight these people! We need to-"

"I'm afraid if you mean to speak more," came the leader's- the Shepard's voice, making me perk my head and whirl back around. He stood with authority and a sternness to his posture. "Then do forgive that I say, 'that time has passed.' My brother had the right of it. Your trespass was insult enough. Believing you are needed where you are not welcomed and worse yet for a problem which does not exist... is arrogance. Next you will inform me that you two are the Delta Warriors of Legend."

... I bowed my head and fought back the urge to say just that. But...

"Yeah. As far as you're concerned, we are." I gasped and turned to Susie, who was cracking a grin. "But nah. We aren't here for idiots like you. All we're here for is making that Fountain history."

I could feel the malice running off of the Shepard's body as his hand tightened it's grip around the staff and started to sink it's butt into the ground. "You DARE...!"

I bite my scared again and waved my hands in front of her to stop talking. She just rolled her head and grinned wider. "Yeah, we do! And you hard headed idiots only get one warning: Stay out of our way or meet the dirt. Hurt our friends and we put you IN the dirt." She then made a swipe with her axe to the side, cutting quite the confident figure as she sneered at the Shepard, who only seemed to boil at her every word. "And since I can tell you don't like it, bonehead, if you think I give a rats ass whether you approve or not of our SAVING YOUR WORLD... think again. I don't need your approval, so don't bother. Do you get me?"

... As much as I thought that speech was cool and all... I knew that we were never making friends after this. My palm smacked my face and I whined out in whisper. "I can't believe you just said that..."

... I was expecting the Shepard to explode at any second... but it never happened. Instead, he grew oddly calm... Tilting his head down, I could feel his glare through his mask. "I believe that I do, Bright One. And we shall not suffer such a thing. The Black Geysers are our collective worlds' salvation. RED EYE entrusted this Geyser's safety to us. You'll not lay finger upon it."

... That last bit confused me. Who was this RED EYE? ... And then it hit me as my eyes shot wide. {Could that be what they called the KNIGHT, here?}

Suddenly, a chilled wind blew passed all of us, blowing my robe around and making me shield my face. Susie was unphased. [It was just wind. I ain't made of paper.] I looked back at the fox man, who apparently hadn't been the case. His teeth were bared in what I could sense was irritation...

His comrades bowed their heads, seeming torn as they lowered their weapons... The man merely had to stamp his staff hard to the floor with a -crack!- to get them to all raise their weapons once more and soon stare at us with hidden glares again. The Shepard himself shook his head and whispered something a bit like, "... Your breath is wasted upon us." Words that made no sense to me, but something caused him to pause.

Susie readied her axe, ready to fight, but I tugged at the length of her vest and said, "Susie, we need to run."

She cocked a brow in outrage at me. "Are you kidding me?"

If I hadn't already been frowning, I would have done it again. "I don't want to hurt these people." ... My exhaustion clouded my head for a moment, making itself all too obvious again as I groaned and drew Susie concern. It hadn't gone anywhere. The surprises merely buried it. Now, it weighed in on my body again, making me wobble a little as I groaned.

She groaned down at me with a less-than-pleased expression... "Fine. But we still need to make room. Sooo..." Suddenly, she bolted to the side, tugging me along as she flailed her axe back-end first into two of the Shepard's men! Under-prepared, they both got slammed surprisingly hard into each other and went tumbling out of our way as Susie led us both in get-away!

"They cannot escape! Eliminate them, immediately!"

That was the last thing we heard before a spray of arrowheads rushed after us! I gasped and tackled Susie down, much to her protest. But before she said anything, she gasped as several arrows flew over us, eyes wide! "Holy...!"

After they passed, we immediately righted ourselves and took off around the corner of a tree as the thrown weapons found themselves sunk in thunks along it's trunk. We were suddenly running for our lives, but Susie was obviously going faster than I was, much to her annoyance. She groaned and suddenly- much to my surprise- took me by the shirt collar like I was nothing to her, throwing me up onto her back as she shouted, "God damn, can you be any slower?! This was your idea!"

As surprised as I was, I was then frightened by an arrowhead zipping passed my face and the monster girl's neck! I turned my head to look back and saw several shadowed figures running and weaving around the trees after us, throwing more of the sharp points our way! "Susie! Dodge right!"

Cursing under her breath, she complied as she picked up the pace and jumped clear of the path over a fallen branch the size of a log! The arrows zipped passed us multiple times by then and our pursuers crowded through the tree bends after us! They were too nimble and the arrows soon began to follow us again.

"Left...! No, right!" The monster girl went neither left nor right, instead shielding her back and some of myself with her Axe's wide head! The arrows twanged and clanged against the exposed side!

At that point, I just grabbed the head and used it like a shield which she bared the weight, moving it up, down or from side to side to deflect the arrows! While I did so, I overhead a few angry words from our opposition. "You are unwelcome!" "For the Shepard!" "RED EYE's will be done!" "It is futile!" "Do not resist, Bright One!" "You'll not rob us of salvation!"

At some point, the attacks began to rain down, much to my gasping surprise! I Raised the Axe head higher to block, but in doing so I missed the one traveling toward Susie's side!

-Slit!-

"GRAH!" An angry, pained cry erupted from her mouth. She suddenly growled and bore her teeth, before she whirled around, glaring. She ripped the axe from my hands, much to my surprise! It deflected several arrows unintentionally while it passed over head head and around to her front. Then, reeling it back, the head suddenly caught fire with a bright red aura! My wide eyes spotted this and I shouted, "No. Wait!"

"SCREW THAT!"

In three rapid, consecutive and massive swings, the aura took form in sharp, fast travelling waves! They blazed out at high speed toward our pursuers and anything around them! ... I couldn't bare to watch. Shutting my eyes, my ears heard loud and clear the screams and the crunch of branches coming down in droves!

-SCRAPE!- -Crruuuuunnnnk!- -Snap!- -Pop!- -BLAAAMMM!- ...

Peaking my eye open, I was left looking at the carnage one angry girl could create... in shock as both eyes sprung wide. In those three strikes, she had torn many of one tree's left branches down, left one with a massive split through the middle of it's huge trunk and taken a big enough chunk out of one other to cause it to collapse over the path back. I couldn't see passed it's thick body unless I looked up at an angle. Leaves would not stop falling and I couldn't be sure whether or not she had ... killed ... one or all of the fox monsters...

I turned my attention to Susie and frowned at her expression. She seemed to have shocked herself with how her mouth gaped weakly and her eyes were wide... "... H-how did... I do that much damage...?!"

Even I had no idea she could do that. But it wasn't the time to question a miracle. We couldn't do anything about what happened.

I looked around as I hopped off of her back, briskly walking around while Susie relaxed her limbs and continued to stare at what she had done.

[... It freaked me out, you know? I know I'm pretty strong, but I could never do something that bad in the Light World. And with just a frickin' axe and magic? That's pretty overkill... Didn't know if I liked it or was... freaked out by myself.]

... Off to our north east, I could see these awfully maintained pillars of stone leading off somewhere to the left. I turned myself back around. "Susie...!"

She snapped her head around to me with a surprised hum. I motioned her over with a hand and though she didn't follow immediately, I started to walk toward the pillars. When I got in the middle of four or so, I looked around at the glyphs carved into them. Faint as they were from the wear of time, they were an unfamiliar emblem. An avian-like symbol in the middle of a kite shield with a fire above it's head. I could only make that out on one pillar's who's condition was slightly better than all others, though part of the shield was chipped away due to the wear in the stone and one of the avian's talons were gone for the same reason.

... I recognized that crest from somewhere, but I couldn't recall where.

"Ralsei..."

I blinked at the sound of my own voice, turning to Susie and tilting my head. "Yes?"

She was looking at me with little expression at all, though a hand grasped an arm before long and she looked away. "... Was that power part of being a Hero of Light? Or...?"

I furrowed my brows and sighed. "Honestly...? I don't really think so. I've heard of such power before. Monsters of any kind can do it, if they are strong enough or worked up enough..." I summoned magic into my hand for better emphasis, starting it out as a small glimmer of light as Susie stared at it. "I think what you experienced was a CRITICAL IMPULSE. It comes from especially intense emotion and a magic surge. Magic surges comes from an adrenaline spikes. When one hits..." I stretched my fingers as the light grew brighter and more intense.

Still, I was using magic, even if it was small, meaning that I was once again becoming aware of my exhaustion from before, squinting. So, I cut the magic off with a groan and let the light fade. Rubbing at my eyes, I went on. "... Well, like you saw... magic gets stronger and it becomes more intense... The more emotional a monster gets- the more worked up- the stronger their magic becomes. Just like human determination..." I hung my head in sigh for the moment.

She cocked her brow down at me and asked, "You okay?"

I shook my head and smiled a tired smile. "N-not really, but uhm... I don't think we should rest until we find our friends."

Susie shook her head. I could practically feel her rolling her eyes. Then, she did something I hadn't expected. She crouched low and showed her back to me, much to my confusion. "Just get on. You ain't awake enough to make me think you won't fall over while I'm not paying attention."

It was a rather enticing offer. And I didn't doubt that I'd fall over like she said... I smiled wryly and asked, "Are.. you sure?"

She looked back at me with a swivel in her lips. "Am I sure that I can carry around a paper weight girly boy who's fluff practically makes him float? Uh. Yeah, I don't think I'll notice much difference."

... I made an abashed frown as I hunched. "U-uhm... G-girly...?"

"Get on my stupid back!"

I just about yelped and instantly complied, climbing onto her back and wrapping my arms around her neck. Not too tightly, though. I was afraid I might choke her. [You. With your dainty arms. Choke ME?] (Susie, don't be mean.) [Hey, It's true and you know it!] Guys, I'm almost done. Can I please finish? [Fine~.] (Please, go on. We're sorry~.)

Regardless, once I was settled on her back, head rested over a shoulder, She got back up and looked at me. "So. Where are we going?

I looked ahead down the path of pillars... Before long, my eyes caught sight of something below the dirt and grass of the forest. Beneath it all was a wide, worn down, broken up walk way...

Pointing down it's length, I told her, "This was seems promising..."

She adjusted me slightly, then started to walk down the path as she said, "You can go ahead and take a nap, but if you drool, I'm dumping you off."

It was a welcoming invitation, despite how mixed the signal I was getting was. My mind was already starting to haze, but I lazily watched around as I rested my head back along her shoulder... The air was getting somewhat thicker with fog, but I didn't know if it was my eyes or actual fog itself. [It was fog. But it wasn't too thick.] Ah. then, I suppose it was!

... Still. Even if it was foggy, I could clearly see something in the tree tops, humanoid in shape, watching us... Though, my mind was dull and I wasn't really alarmed by it. Before much longer, my lids grew too heavy to keep open... and I ended up falling asleep...

I guess this is where my job ends for now, right?

... Oh, wait. No.

After a while, I heard Susie speaking my name. "Ralsei... Yo. Ralsei!" I cracked my eyes open in a strained groan and squinted, looking around for Susie. She was looking at me and still carrying me on her back. She nudged her head to her front side and told me, "Check this out."

I furrowed my brows in protest, but relaxed my face as I stared out over her shoulder... And nearly immediately, I wasn't tired anymore. Instead, I was in wide-eyed awe of the scene before me...

... It was the same scene that I'm sure Noelle already told you about. An overhead view of the forest from atop the massive, broken bridge. There was the massive, orange treeline, the settlement immediately noticeable at the northwest side of the forest, the actual length of the bridge itself... And then, I gasped at the true draw. The ruined, flora overtaken castletown where a beam of black, flowing light pierced into the sky from the castle's highest, largest tower. A Dark Fountain... Bigger than any other I had seen before, reaching higher and higher, breaking through the clouds and even cleaving any trying to near it in two. But it didn't seem to stop there. It even passed the very sky itself, blasting into unknown space- higher than any Darkner has ever flown.

I sweat and smiled a little, though my first emotion was nervousness. "W-well... We know where we need to go, at the very least..." Making a bunched frown, I went on to say, "Though... We'd first need to find Kris so he can close the Fountain and your other friend, Noelle. Otherwise, someone who's not present by the fountain may not make it home with you two..."

She nodded and hummed in agreement. "Only one problem. This forest's pretty friggin' big. There's all of that..." She then turned around and showed me what I wasn't seeing to the south. "And... that."

What she plainly referred to as "that" was a nearly-as-large portion of the forest, but the difference was that I could see the end... or rather the beginning of this one.

The outermost region was the entrance to which we came from. A massive, yet thinner sea of trees bent inward, crescent in shape. But beyond that was the rest of the forest. And it was grand in scope. It was a tsunami of orange leaves threatening the dark green land beyond, attempting to overtake it. And yet, the forest itself was not the other interest. Plenty of like ruined buildings wrapped in moss and vines- or roots and trees could be seen and compared to the castletown. There were even settlements off in that direction. Their twinkles of golden, red and blue light drew the eye every which way, all of these colors having their own little nook in the trees- one of those literally in the trees...

A distant howl makes me take a sharp inhale along with Susie and direct my eyes far west to the sky just above the forest. There, a long-bodied, flying creature like to the one Noelle encountered circled slowly around a ruined cathedral. A Shulong, the masked fox monster called it...

"... I really hope we don't end up in a fight with that monster," I said with sweat trailing my cheek.

"Same."

As she turned back around and I hopped off of her back, I walked to the top of the rupture in the bridge and looked out toward the settlement nearest the castletown. "That said, I don't know if it's safe to show ourselves in a sapient populated area."

Thinking for a moment while Susie folded her arms and sighed, I considered all angles as best I could. ... Then, I turned to her and told her what the plan should be. "I would still like to see if we can reason with those fox monsters. Surely they can be-"

"Ain't gonna happen." I frowned... She only stared down at me. "You're a good guy, Ral, but I know the type of that Shepard of their's. Stubborn as a rock and doesn't listen well. Likes to listen to himself. The only thing we'll get from him and his band of weirdos is crap. We're best off avoiding them or knocking out the ones we can't. That's the only 'reason' they'll listen to."

... As much as my mouth wanted to deny everything, my head and heart were both telling me the same thing: she was right...

With a heavy sigh, I frowned away from her. Then, I came to look at the castletown. "Either way, we should keep an ear out for our friends. Right now, we're just a potential two of three heroes- possibly even just one confirmed."

"H-hey...!"

I ignored her and went on. "Without Kris, we can't solve the problem, so going to the castle out in the distance with the Fountain may be pointless. If they're captured, we'd have no idea until someone comes our way. And that's only during the circumstance in which they are the same people holding Kris captive. And that should go for Noelle as well. With how they reacted to a 'Bright One,' they might use even your friend as a bargaining chip or a trap."

The monster girl paused for a moment... Then, she nodded. "In other words, we stick to the plan. Find our friends before we do anything else and do anything it takes to get them back, if push comes to shove."

I nodded back... But I also smiled through a nervous furrow when I realized just how much "anything" could mean to her. [Oh, come on.] "W-within reason, of course. Right?"

And Susie cocked a brow, before shrugging and taking a sigh. Shaking her head, she agreed with a, "Whatever, then. I'll just follow your lead like I did Kris. That work?"

I nodded more at ease with that. "Yes. I believe it does."

As the short discussion ended, we both began to walk... "Hey. Ralsei." I blinked in confusion, turning my head to look at her and tilted it as I saw the small smile on her face. "I-it's... nice to see you again..."

... I smiled abashed as I felt the color in my cheeks rise. "It's wonderful to see you again as well, Susie. I hope I can say the same to Kris as well, soon."

The purple monster huffed a laugh and grinned that toothy smirk of her's. "Yeah? Well, I wonder what they'd like to say to you when that happens, Fluffy Boy~."

That drew a confused blink from myself as we began our descent down the other side of what remained of that bridge... What did Kris have to say to me?

I mean, I know now, but... w-well... It's a question for you, the listener, to think upon. Isn't it?

[... Yer' red, dude~.]

... Susie... perhaps we should have a talk about the fine points and importance of building suspe-

-CLICK!-

...


That... Took way longer than I wanted.

I knew this would be hard for me from the get go, seeing as Ralsei is a rather interesting character. He is both the kindest marshmallow and the first person that will try to tell you where he thinks you may be doing something wrong.

I don't know what part of that my brain has trouble handling, but I certainly hope this rather long chapter has trained me to handle him a bit more easily...

Like I said, this is the last chapter for a while. I plan to first go back and double check for grammar errors and consistency issues- possibly even flow issues. Then, I intend to take a break and work out how exactly I want to move forward with the story. As fun as this is to write, if I keep trying to force it, it's just going to frustrate me.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you have enjoyed thus far!

Also, I plan to post review responses in the future. Obviously, I won't be spoiling the story at all. So, if you have questions pertaining to such things or if certain parts of your review touch upon such subjects, you'll understand if I A. Don't be completely honest with you or B. Give you an unclear statement about such things. ;P T's how it goes~.